Dil Chahta Hai (2000)

Farhan Akhtar’s directorial debut, ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, gave a new lease of life to Saif Ali Khan’s plunging career. The actor played Sameer, a lover-boy who is good at flirting. He falls in love with every other girl he meets, but eventually finds his ladylove through an alliance arranged by his parents. None can forget Saif’s wonderful performance as Sameer in the film.

Chameli (2004)

Kareena Kapoor, in and as ‘Chameli’ in Sudhir Mishra and Anant Balani’s film, played a prostitute. The Kapoor girl won the Filmfare Special Award for Best Performance for her impeccable performance as a girl who is into flesh trade. Paired opposite Rahul Bose for the first time, Bebo shared an awesome chemistry with the actor. She took what it takes to pull of a stunning performance – right from her appearance, to wearing loud make-up to working on her body language to her diction. Bebo’s portrayal of Chameli was outstanding.

Hum Tum (2004)

‘Hum Tum’ established Saif Ali Khan as an actor who could carry the burden of a film on his shoulders. As Karan Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan grabbed his first National Award for an impressive portrayal of a childlike boy who grows of age with time.

Omkara (2006)

Kareena Kapoor plays Dolly Mishra in Vishal Bharadwaj’s ‘Omkara’. Paired opposite a brilliant performer like Ajay Devgn, Kareena did an equally brilliant job. A de-glam Bebo looked pretty as a rustic young girl who is in love with Omkara, the Bahubali. Kareena had fewer dialogues to mouth but conveyed her role through her flawless expressions. If you are a Kareena fan, and haven’t yet watched ‘Omkara’, it’s high time to buy the film’s DVD.

Parineeta (2005)

Released in 2005, Pradeep Sarkar’s ‘Parineeta’ saw Saif play an anglicized Bengali man, who is insecure in love. In the film, he is paired opposite Vidya Balan, who makes an impressive debut as Lalita. Saif looks classy as an elite Bengali and leaves no stone unturned in giving one of the best performances in his career so far.

Jab We Met (2007)

Geet Dhillon’s character was tailor made for Kareena Kapoor. Bebo played a young, vivacious and a happy-go-lucky girl in the film, who eventually gives in to the misery of her life – being ditched by her boyfriend. The flamboyance that Kareena shows in the first half of the film is worth applause. In the second half of the film, Kareena proves that she can handle emotional scenes with maturity. In totality, JWM shows the various facets of Kareena’s acting prowess.

Being Cyrus (2006)

Saif Ali Khan teamed up with Homi Adjania for his first English psychological drama ‘Being Cyrus’, where he plays the title role. Saif, as a Parsi man, dumbfounds audiences with an eerie performance! It was Saif’s first offbeat film and he pulled it off with style.

3 Idiots (2009)

None could have played a Pia Sahatrabuddhe, a medical student, with as much élan as Kareena Kapoor. The girl looked apt as Pia, who is a bubbly next-door-girl. Paired opposite Aamir Khan for the first time ever, Kareena looked cute with the actor. Though Kareena had little work to do when compared to the men in the film, her work stood apart.

Omkara (2006)

‘Omkara’ helped Saif Ali Khan earn the reputation of being a fine actor. As Ishwar Tyagi aka Langda Tyagi in Vishal Bharadwaj’s film, Saif did what others least could expect from him-a performance worth a standing ovation. He played a mean man, who hatches a plot to accuse his master’s fiancée of infidelity. Langda Tyagi helped Saif grab the Filmfare for playing the best villain.

Heroine (2012)

Madhur Bhandarkar could only thank his stars for having Kareena Kapoor on board his most ambitious project, ‘Heroine’. As Mahi Arora, a Bollywood actress at the peak of her fame and career, Kareena did complete justice to her role. The film shows the highs and the eventual lows of the life of an actress and Bebo hit the bull’s eye!

By Gayatri Sankar